MINISTER of Foreign Affairs Chishimba Kambwili says former High Commissioner to Canada Nevers Mumba had no authority to collect over K500 million from Barrick Gold on behalf  of the government. Mr Kambwili has since ordered that the account the Barrick Gold money was held in be audited.  

Dr Mumba is believed to have solicited and received more than half a billion Kwacha (US$122,000) from Barrick Gold, purporting to fund a Zambian cultural week in his capacity as high commissioner to Canada.

The largest gold digger in the world has confirmed in an emailed statement that they gave money to the Zambian mission in Canada for some �cultural� events.

The Auditor- General will audit the books of accounts of the Zambian mission in Canada again.

Daily Mail investigations have revealed that the charismatic preacher could have used the money given to the embassy for purposes other than what the money was meant for.

Mr Kambwili said the money Dr Mumba collected is for the treasury as he solicited for the funds using the name of Government.

He wants Dr Mumba to disclose who authorised him to collect the money from Barrick Gold on behalf of the Zambian government.

�Dr Mumba was a signatory to that money and in fact he even used headed paper to solicit for those monies, so the money belongs to Government and as far as we are concerned, he had no authority to collect it on behalf of Government. Let him tell us who authorised him to collect that money,� he said.

Mr Kambwili said it is a serious offence for a serving diplomat to solicit for money in countries they are accredited to without approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He said High Commissioners and ambassadors act for and on behalf of the minister of foreign affairs who acts on behalf of the president.

�If he was soliciting for funds for private organisations or Zambian residents in Canada, he should not have done it on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headed paper,� said Mr Kambwili.

The minister said the money collected by Dr Mumba belongs to the treasury as he solicited the funds using government property.

�Any case which involves impropriety, we will investigate as Government, to the bitter end. We need to stamp out corruption and financial irregularities in the system of governance,� he said.

Mr Kambwili advised Dr Mumba to �tone down� and await the outcome of the investigation.

He said Dr Mumba will not do himself any good by accusing Government of trying to fish for cases against him.

Mr Kambwili said the Patriotic Front (PF) Government is not interested in persecuting Dr Mumba but is merely following the law.

On Tuesday, Dr Mumba admitted knowledge of the money but denied any sinister action, saying everything was done above board.

�I am aware about the money from Barrick Gold but it went to the hosting of Amayenge by the Zambian Canada Cultural Exchange,� Dr. Mumba said without elaborating further.